1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to coin-operated timers such as may be used to control laundry machines, and more specifically, to a mechanism for an improved coin-operated time accumulator particularly adapted for use on automatic laundry machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U. S. Pat. No. 3,576,137 to Zinninger assigned to the same assignee of the instant invention, means are described for accumulating timer run time by the sequential introduction of a series of coins in a coin-receiving mechanism. The coin-receiving mechanism employed by Zinninger is of a type commonly available, the structure and operation of which is well known to those skilled in the art. Such coin-receiving mechanisms commonly incorporate an inwardly and outwardly reciprocal slide biased toward the outward position, and have various assemblies adapted to receive, evaluate and collect coins and to restrict the reciprocation of the slide in the event of inadequate or improper coinage deposit. Included within the group of such assemblies is a movement restricting means operable after an initial amount of outward reciprocation of the slide from the fully inward position to prevent subsequent inward reciprocation of the slide. A problem arises in conjunction with a time accumulating means such as disclosed by Zinninger when employed in conjunction with such commonly available coin-receiving mechanisms in that an unscrupulous operator may accumulate unauthorized timer run time by repeatedly reciprocating or ratcheting the slide inwardly and outwardly in small increments when the slide is near its fully inward position. To solve this problem U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,509 to Harris assigned to the assignee of the instant invention was issued relating to a lost motion mechanism associated with the slide to delay the operation of the time accumulating means during the initial outward reciprocating of the slide until the movement restricting means became operable to prevent subsequent inward reciprocation of the slide and thereby also preventing rotation of the timer gear during the initial outward reciprocation of the slide.
A problem, however, arises in conjunction with a time accumulating means similar to the mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,576,137 and 3,605,509. The problem again is that operators of the machine may also accumulate unauthorized timer run time by forcibly ramming the slide and the rack it carries inwardly with such force that it will cause the rack to be carried further inwardly by the momentum thereof. In this manner then the outwardly withdrawal of the slide carrying the rack will register more timer run time than would normally be accumulated for a given amount of coinage. It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a means for preventing the unauthorized accumulation of timer run time on coin-operated timer mechanisms.
Such coin-operated timer mechanisms as described above suffer in accuracy due to the difference in mechanism assembly tolerances that will vary from one slide mechanism to another. Heretofore each individual machine needed to be adjusted manually to compensate for the manufacturing tolerance differences to assure uniformity of time accumulation from one machine to another. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide for a self-compensating assembly tolerance adjustment to automatically compensate for tolerance differences from one assembly to another and arrive at a constant accumulator time period per setting.